A few weeks ago, my best friend and I went on a road trip to the south of France to attend the joint birthday party of two friends. They invited us to a grand celebration inside a beautiful chateaux near Bordeaux and we decided to take our time on the way there by stopping in Fontainebleau where we discovered, amongst other things, a wonderful coffee shop by the name of Machina Coffee.
For the past few years, I have been touting France as one of the most exciting places for specialty coffee in the world and I am so happy to see cute cafés popping up in even the smallest of towns. After breakfast in the chateaux where we spent the night and going for a lovely morning walk around Fontainebleau’s gorgeous palace, we went back to where we had parked the car and have a coffee.
Specialty coffee near France’s most famous business school
Machina Coffee is small and cosy inside and frequented by the city’s many international students and visitors as well as specialty coffee hungry locals who come here to enjoy expertly prepared espresso-based drinks, pourovers and tasty brunches. Founded by David Alexandre who wanted to create a welcoming space for coffee lovers in Fontainebleau, Machina Coffee also stands out as a place where you can buy a wide range of coffee beans from different roasters alongside a selection of other goodies.
We took a seat inside and ordered a Flat White and a Dirty Chai; my friend Maxine doesn’t really drink coffee unless I make it. He He. The place was buzzing with different voices and people talking across tables about travel plans, where to go for dinner in Paris and why Economy Plus is not worth the extra money.
For David, a small city like Fontainebleau that is just a few kilometers from the capital, was the ideal place to open a café. Paris might be one of the world’s most visited cities, but its high rents are also regularly pricing out entrepreneurs who want to set up their own businesses. Many, like Thomas Labroue of MOKO in Bordeaux are thus heading back to their hometowns or further away from Paris to find new opportunities.
A varied offering including many French and international roasters
In addition to Machina Coffee’s widely changing coffee menu, David also experiments with dinner pop ups, serving natural wines and kombuchas and hosting various artists on the walls. David is a big car racing fan and there is much related memorabilia on display too.
This lovely coffee shop was a really great surprise find for us! If there is one thing I would say, then it’s that the counter and the shelves were quite cluttered, which made it feel more crowded than it needed to be and that the menu is a bit too big. Somtimes, less truly is more.
